Life guard or obstruction remover for motor, road, and other vehicles



Nov. 20,1928.

V. J. P. CLIFFORD LIFE GUARD 0R DESTRUCTION REHOVER FOR MOTOR, ROAD AND OTHER VEHICLES Filed Oct. 5. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 20, 1928.

v. J. P. CLIFFORD LIFE GUARD OR DESTRUCTION REMOVER FOR MOTOR, ROAD, AND OTHER VEHICLES Filed Oct. 5, 192 7 3 Sheets-Sheet vwewi'm VJ. l Clifford s Sheets- Sheet Nov. 20, 1928. Q

v. J. P. CLIFFORD LIFE GUARD 0R OBSTRUCTION REMOVER FOR MOTOR, ROAD, AND OTHER VEHICLES Filed 00x. 5, 1927 Patented Nov. 20, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT orFicE.

VERNON JOHN PHILIP CLIFFORD, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

LIFE GUARD OR DESTRUCTION REMOVER- FOR MOTOR, ROAD, AND-OTHER VEHICLES.

Application filed October 3. 1927, Serial No. 223,810, and in Great Britain October 12, 1926.

This invention refers to improvements in roller, which may be in one or more lengths or sections is arranged in front of the front wheels of the vehicle in a fixed or an adjustably mounted frame so that it is normally well clear of, say about eight inches above the surface of the road.

The roller which may be disposed transversely of the vehicle or slightly inclined is so .geared or arranged that when in operation it will be lowered into close proximity, or contact, with the ground and will be aut0.- matically revolved in an opposite direction to that of the road wheels of .the vehicle thereby not only pushing a person or object before it but at the samev time turning same over and over thus preventing same from getting under the road wheels.

The roller may be lowered as by hand at the will of the driver by means of suitable mechanism or it may be automatically actuated asby the roller itself or a trigger mechanism arranged above or in front of said roller, coming into contact with a person or the object on the road.

In order that the present invention may be clearly understood and more readily carried into effect it is hereinafter described by way of example withre ference to the accompanying, drawings in which Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a rotatable life guard or obstruction remover mounted in front of the steering wheels of a motor road vehicleand adapted to be rotated by means of an electric motor of the type commonly used for starting cars.

Fig. 2 is a similar view to that shown in the preceding figure but showing the device lowered into its operative position just above the surface of the road; and i Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing one portion of the roller in'section.

In the particular construction illustrated the roller 10 is made in four sections mounted to revolve together on a common transverse shaft 11 which is supported by pendants 12. The pendants 12 are fitted with ball bearings 13 for the shaft 11 and are pivotally connected to and themselves pivoted at 14: to

side plates 15. The pendants 12 are extended can the roller itself turn or move back about.

the pivots 14 but the whole device can turn or move back and down about the pivots 17. Normally the device is maintained in the inoperative position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a latch plate 20 which is pivotally mounted at 21 and which engages a stud 22 fixed to the motor .casing or some other suitable part whilst when thelatch plate is tripped, as in the manner hereinafter described, the down or working position of the roller 10 (Fig. 2) is determined by the rubber buffers 23, on the rear or extended arms of the side plates 15, making contact with the un derside of the chassis 19 of the vehicle. 7

The motor 24 is mounted bet-ween the two side plates 15 on a pair of transverse rods 29 secured thereto so as to come more or less in the centre line of the vehicle, that is, midway between the wheels of the vehicle and so as to enable the forward end 25 of its driving shaft 26 to extend forwardly and by means of the worm pinion 27 at its end to engage with a worm wheel 28 which is mounted in a provided between the middle pair of roller Q sections 10. The motor shaft 25, 26 however, in order to allow for the movement of the roller 10 about its pivot 14 is formed in two main sections 25, 26 which are connected by universal joint 30. The rear section 26 is also formed in two portions 26 and 26 so as to permit of telescopic movement due to the shortening of the shaft as the rollertends to swing back towards the body .of the vehicle. Normally the rollerlO is prevented from rotating on its shaft llby means of a ratchet wheel 31 which is engaged bymeans of a pawl 3e and before the roller can be operated this pawl 3 f has first to be pulled out of gear with said ratchet 31. This releasing operation may be effected manually as by a link or red (not shown) connected to an extension lever secured on a shaft 36 carrying the aforesaid pawl 34 or it may be effected automatieally as the roller is moved backwards when striking an object by means of a forked member 37 which is also connected to the shaft 36 and which engages between a pair of collars 38-39 provided on the forward extension raft 25 of the motor. The swinging the roller 10 about its pivot 14 is also utilize to ope-rate a suitable electric switch or cor tact making device adapted to automatically connect the motor up to the source of E. M. when the roller is pushed back towards the body of the vehicle. This may conveniently be effected by providing the rearward extension of one of the pendants 12 with a projecting eye which is adapted to engage a knob l1 on a tumbler or like switch 4-2.

The two sections 26, 26*" of the motor shaft are only permitted a certain degree of teleace-pic movement which is not quite sufficient to take up all the rearward movement of the roller 10 so that towards'the end portion of its rearward movement the motor shaft 25, 26 causes the armature shaft 26 to slide with its arn'iature in its bearings and by means of its projecting end 43 to engage with the lower end of the trip lever l l engaging the latch plate 20. The movement of this trip lever a l causesthe said latch plate 20 to be moved forwardly and to releaset-he' stud and with it the side plates 15 carrying the roller and the motor 2 so that they are free to swing together about the pivots 1'7 until the buffer 23 comes into contact with the un derside of the vehicle chassis, as shown in Fig. 2. V

In operation when the roller 10 comes into contact with an obstacle offering sufficient resistance to over-come the resist-a crequired to operate the switch. 42 the roller will be forced slightly backwards and the movement thus given to the pendants 12 will trip the switch 42 and complete the electrical circuit which starts the motor revolving. This first backward movement of the roller also carries backward the worm casing 129 and all its contents, the movement conveniently being one of a magnitude of about This movement is compensated for by the telescopic extension of the worm shaft. hen this amount of movement has taken place a shoulder 45 on the shaft 26 st "ikcs a shoulder as on the armature shaft 26. Suitable stops (not shown) are also provided inconnection'with the pendants 12 to take any thrust after this initial movement has taken ilace. During this time the pawl 34: will be in engagement with the ratchet wheel 3 thereby restraining its movement. As, therefore, the worm wheel'28 cannot revolve the worm pinion 27 will feed its way towards he motor 24c and as the telescopic shaft 26 and 26 eeasee has previously been closed up the rearward movement of the worm will be imparted to the armature. This rearward movement of the worm pinion 27 will also cause the shoulder 89 to engagethe lever 3? and so withdraw the pawl 3d from the ratchet wheel 31. The movement of the armature due to the rotation of the worm will also operate the rocking lever 44 su'llic-iently to cause latch plate 20 to become disengaged from the stud 22. this point the roller 10 begins to fall about its pivots 17 until it assumes the position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings when the buffer 23 up into close contact with the inside of the c" assis frame 19. 'lhe'roller will then be revolving in an anticlockwise direction which will be found to effectively prevent any person or object encountered from passing under the roller to the road wheels of the vehicle. Conveniently the peripheral speed of theroller may be equal to or greater than the speed of the car with respect to the road surface so that the roller which may as shown also have a roughened or longitudinally ribbed'surface will always exert a lifting effect upon'anybody or anything coming in contact with it. In the particular construction ill ustrater the roller may be formed of aluminum in order to reduce the weight and resistance to movement when starting. It may comprise a centraltubular shaft 11 and discs or flanges carrying the outer tubular casing on which are arranged spaced longitudinal ribs 146;

The safety roller may be formed of or be covered with solid rubber or it may be provided with a pneumatic cushion or cushions, thus the'roller may also serve as a buffer to minimize damage by collision. This buffer effect may also be'obtained or augmented by the introduction of suitable springs or air or hydraulic shock'absorbers, in connection with an adjustably mounted roller carrying frame.

The improved. device may be applied to the rear wheels a vehicle also and a net may also be used in conjunction with the'roller if desired so as to catch the person or other object when same is lifted up or falls over the rollers.

In a modified construction, he arrangement of the roller 10in its frame 15 may be such that when the roller and frame are lowertd a small an; Zary road wheel on the frame which is normally in frictional contact with the safety roller will make contact with the road and will drive the said safety roller 10 in the opposite diection. Alternatively the safety roller 10 may be driven from the vehicle as by means of a flexible shaft from the mechanism of the car or by compressed air. In the latter cases the drive may be controlled by suitable means from the drivers In some cases the motor driving the roller may be arranged within the iii "roller itself and such an arrangement maybe found to be especially convenient in the case 'of an electric motor'or of a motor working by compressed air in which case the roller could form the rotor of the motor. p The roller or rollers may be so arranges in relation to'the steering Wheels of the vehicle that when the latter is turned to the 7 right or'left the .roller or rollers will move in conjunction with the steering wheels in order to guard them. Modified means may also be provided for ensuring that the roller will be given a suitable peripheral speedor momentum before it actually reaches the ground. This may be done by the provision in conjunction with the trigger release mechanism previously described of strong clockwork spring or springs which maybe arranged within the roller so as to cause it to be rapidly revolved the instant it is released or by the provision of a. spring or springs serving to force a toothed wheel on the roller. orrollers along a toothed rack or racks as it passes down towards the ground, thus giving the roller an initial impulse to assist the driving mechanism.

' In some cases also springs may be employed for giving extra pressure to retain the roller or rollers in contact with the ground and if desired such springsmay also be those employed for speeding up and giving initial rotation to the roller itself.

A shield or guard may also be provided in conjunction with the said roller and this would preferably be arranged just above said roller so as to support any person thrown by the roller and to prevent them from getting thrown by the upper portion of the said roller on to the-front of the vehicle. In a further slightly modified construction I may employ a plurality of driving wheels for the roller and these wheels may be driven by any suitable gearing from the motor itself or from any other source of power employed. The said driving wheels may be mounted on the roller itself or may be geared to the roller in such a manner that the motion is conveyed to the roller or rollers in a reverse direction to that in which the wheels of the vehicle are rotated as previously described.

In some cases the device may be made collapsible, that is to say, where garage space is a consideration of importance the device may be made to hinge or fold up so that when the vehicle is not in use the roller can be turned up into a position above the engine or radiator of the vehicle; Also the roller may comprise a corrugated or other band.

latch at the rear end of the frame normaly holding the forward end'of the frame raised, and means for-releasing the latch whenthe guard member strikes an obstruction and is swung downwardly.

2. A life/guard or obstruction removed comprising a roller, means for supporting the roller from a vehicle and permitting vertical movement thereof, means for positive ly rotating the roller, means for normally restraining rotation of the roller, and means operable by the rotating means upon lowering of the roller to release said restrainingm'eans and permit rotation of theroller.

8. A life guard or'obstruction removei" comprising a frame, means for pivotally mounting the frame "upon a vehicle, a roller, pendants carrying the roller and pivoted upon the front. end of the frame, means for normally holding the front end of the frame raised, means for positively rotating the roll. er, and means whereby downward pivotal movement of the pendants and the roller will release said frame holding means and efiect actuation of the rotating means.

4. A life guard or obstruction remover comprising a frame, means for pivotally mounting the frame upon a vehicle, a roller carried by the front endof the frame, and a rubber buffer on the frame-to limit the downward movement of the front end of the 7 6. A life guard comprising a frame, means I for pivotally supporting the frame upon a vehicle, a latch engageable with the rear portion of the frame to normally hold the front end thereof raised, a roller mounted on the front end of the frame for vertical movement relative to the frame, a trip lever mounted on the frame and having one end bearing against the latch, and an element bearing against the opposite end-of the trip lever and movable longitudinally of the frame and cooperating with theroller whereby upon downward movement of the roller the latch will be released and the frame per- 7. A life guard comprising a frame, a.

roller pivotally mounted on the frameyaf worm wheel fixed to, the roller on'the axis thereof, a ratchet fixed concentrically to the worm wheel, a pawl mounted on the frame and engaging said ratchet, a shaft mounted in the frame for endwise movement, a

worm on said shaft meshing with the worm wheel, means for rotating the shaft rendered mitted to rock downwardly at its front end.

operative by downward movement of the roller, an element depending from the pawl, and a collar on the shaft to engage said element whereby to release the pawl from the ratchet and permit rotation of the roller.

8. A life guard comprising a vertically swinging frame, latch mechanism at the rear end of the frame normally holding the front end thereof raised, a roller mounted at the front end of the frame for relative ver tical swinging movement, an electric motor on the trar e, an endwise movable armature shaft if'Ol' the motor extending longitudinally of the frame and comprising a front section adjacent the roller, an intermediate section connected with the front section by a universal joint and a rear section telescopically connected with the intermediate section and having its rear end engaging the latch mechanism, means actuated by downward movement of the roller to close the motor circuit, means for rotating the roller including a worm wheel fixed to the roller and a worm on the front section of the armature shaft meshing with the worn wheel, means cooperating with the Worm wheel to restrain rotation of the same and means on the :t'rontsection of the armature shaft to release said restraining means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

VERNON JOHN PHILlP CLIFFORD. 

